A recent article titled, “Living on $600 a month? Seniors over income limit can struggle to afford Medi-Cal,” published in the LA Times on November 27, 2024, discusses the challenges faced by low-income seniors in California to afford basic cost of living expenses and meet their medical needs. Many elderly Californians receive too much income to qualify for free Medi-Cal. Even $1 over the income limit for free Medi-Cal can result in a monthly share of medical cost of $800 or more. Medi-Cal income rules still rely on an income factor, established in the late 1980’s, of $600 a month to determine individual’s share of their monthly Medi-Cal cost. The article illustrates this difficulty through the experience of one elderly individual living in Los Angeles.
Advocates like Tiffany Huyenh-Cho, Director of California Medicare & Medicaid Advocacy at the Los Angeles based advocacy center, Justice in Aging, are pushing to raise the income limit to better reflect living costs, aiming for changes by 2026.
In a statement to the LA Times, Tiffany Huyenh-Cho highlights the urgency of such reforms, stating,
“Without these changes, we risk pushing more seniors into poverty and institutional care, which is far more costly in the long run.”
To access to the complete LA Times article, follow this link.
